


Nothing Is Innocent

by oceanofdarkness



Category: Legend (1985), Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Rumbelle Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-20
Updated: 2012-12-20
Packaged: 2017-11-21 19:02:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/601075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oceanofdarkness/pseuds/oceanofdarkness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Dark One seeks his son in a land without magic, but he must obtain an elusive beast before the Dark Curse that will take him there can be cast.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nothing Is Innocent

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheStraggletag](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheStraggletag/gifts).



> Rumbelle Secret Santa fic for theStraggletag, who requested a Rumbelle AU based on the 1985 fantasy film Legend.

Many years ago, the son of the Dark One was stolen away from the Enchanted Forest. For centuries, the Dark One searched for his son, but the boy had been sent to a land without magic, and there was no way for the Dark One to follow. He sought out realm jumpers, time turners, magic beans, and countless enchantments, but he found nothing that would take him to his son. For centuries the Dark One searched, and finally he became convinced that his only hope was a dark curse. He would have to sacrifice his world to travel to this land without magic, the land that held his lost boy. 

All magic comes with a price, and such power would require great sacrifice... sacrifice that the Dark One preferred to allow another to make. He took an apprentice, a young goblin named Regina with a soul as black as midnight. She would be the curse caster, she would make the sacrifice that would return the Dark One’s son to him, but first she must learn to take the power she would need to accomplish such a task. For that lesson, the dark one would require a rare beast, a beast that could only be lured by one who was noble and pure.

So the Dark One travelled to the Marchlands to deal for such a soul, noble and pure... and desperate. The lands were ruled by Sir Maurice, and his people were currently fighting a war with the ogres, a war that they could not hope to win... not without assistance. They had sent word to him, begging for his aid in defeating the ogres and promising gold for his services. The Dark One had no need of gold, he had spun more straw into gold than he could ever spend. The Dark One required something more precious. The daughter of Sir Maurice was his price. The knight refused him, but the girl offered herself and the deal was struck. Her name was Belle. She was bright and pure, just the bait that the Dark One required to obtain the beast he sought.

The Lady Belle was betrothed to a young knight, Sir Gaston, who refused to accept her decision to go with the Dark One. He set out on a quest to rescue his damsel from the clutches of the monster, but knew that he could not hope to defeat one possessed of such power without assistance. He had heard tell of a wood sprite who answered to the name of Killian, one who was said to know the secrets of the Dark One, one who would gladly see him defeated. So it was this Killian that Sir Gaston sought out when he left the lands of his birth to journey to the Dark Castle.

To find the sprite was no easy task, but find him Gaston did after making the journey to a place known as Neverland. He learned that there was but one way to defeat the Dark One, he must obtain an enchanted dagger, for it was the only thing that could kill the creature. Killian had tried himself to obtain the weapon, but had failed at every turn. It was protected by charms and spells that he could not breach. His enchantment, even moreso than that of the fairies, was one that the demon’s magic reacted to violently. He had lost a hand on his last attempt and now sported a delicate metal hook in it’s place. Killian did not believe that Sir Gaston would succeed in his quest to claim the dagger but he agreed to accompany him to the Dark Castle and to bring the fairy Milah to aid in their endeavors. She had a connection to the sprite that would allow them to communicate even when separated, and her ability to detect the Dark One’s magic would surely prove useful in the knight’s quest. The mountains that protected the Dark One’s Lair were impassable in the depths of winter, and so the tiny band of three agreed that they should wait until the first thaw to put their plan into motion. Sir Gaston was wary of leaving his betrothed in the clutches of the demon for so long, but was forced to admit that there was no other choice.

The Dark One, too, was waiting for the snows to melt away, for the creature he sought would not venture out in the gray and icy days of winter. Their kind were creatures of sunlight, creatures of life... they hid themselves away while the world was in a season of death. And so it was that the Dark One came to know his captive, spending long days with her as the storms of winter raged outside the castle walls.

The Lady Belle had been a surprise to him almost from the beginning. She had asked to be given something to occupy her time in the castle, saying that she preferred to make herself useful rather than languishing in a dungeon cell. He’d been wary at first, but was persuaded when she rightly pointed out that she could not leave the castle in the snows, and even if she was inclined to try...  _“Surely, you have magic enough to keep me here if that is what you wish.”_  The Dark One was forced to concede her point, agreeing that she might serve as caretaker for his rather large estate so long as she gave him her word that she would stay with him forever.  She had little trouble agreeing to the stipulation, knowing full well that she would remain in the castle for as long as the Dark One willed it so, with or without her agreement. So, the Lady Belle became caretaker to the Dark Castle. She cleaned and did the laundry, dusted the collection of artifacts the Dark One had amassed over the centuries, cooked her master’s meals and brought him tea. Apart from a single incident early into the new arrangement when the Lady Belle chipped a delicate china cup, the castle and all that it contained was the better for her attentions.

The Dark One thought at first to tease her, taunt her with tales of his dark deeds, but she was unafraid of the monster she lived with. She even sought his company when her chores were finished, curling by the fire in the Great Hall in the evenings to watch him spin or to read a book. Thinking she preferred it only to her tiny cell, he brought her up from the dungeon and settled her in a proper room, but she continued to seek him out, and the Dark One was obliged to conclude that his odd little caretaker might honestly welcome his company. The pair began to take tea together and to indulge in lengthy conversations in the evening by the fire. The Dark One told the lady tales of his travels and explained the history of the artifacts he kept in the Great Hall.  The Lady Belle in turn told him of her life before she came to live with him in the Dark Castle, her longing to see the world. When she confessed disappointment with the betrothal her father had arranged for her with the knight Sir Gaston, it was of particular interest to her new master, a fact which both pleased and discomfited each of them.

One afternoon, as Spring approached, The Lady Belle decided to pull back the heavy curtains covering the high windows in the Great Hall to let in some light. The task proved to be a difficult one, as the Dark One had taken pains to ensure that they remained in place, and a particularly determined tug sent her tumbling off the ladder she perched upon and into her master’s arms. As he stared down at her cradled against him and took in the sight of her, eyes wide and dark  and lips parted, the Dark One realized the danger in allowing himself to get too close to the girl. Her purity must be preserved. The Spring might indeed be on it’s way, but it had not yet arrived, and he had no hope of luring the beast he sought if the Lady Belle was spoiled by the time the snows thawed. He dropped the girl as if she were a burning coal and backed away from her with his hands fluttering awkwardly between them. The curtains fell back with a flick of his wrist, but he refused to approach his little caretaker again. Instead he made his way from the room with a few hasty words tossed back over his shoulder, the last he spoke to her for long weeks afterward. 

“Enjoy your light, Lady. I require the solace of shadows.”

He took to spending most of his days and nights up in his turret room, even removing his spinning wheel from the Great Hall so that he might pass his evenings locked away from her. If the Lady Belle was puzzled by the sudden coldness in her master, she did her best to put it from her mind. She knew him to be a mercurial creature, and told herself that his mood would once again shift, perhaps with the turn of the seasons. She spent her evenings alone in the library choosing either to occupy her thoughts with books or to watch the elaborate clock over the hearth mark the last hours of winter. It was a beautiful thing, the clock, a piece from the Black Forest with elaborate carvings and a tiny mechanical satyr that came out to chase a maid about a circular track at the chiming of the hour. The Lady Belle supposed that she should be scandalized by the implications, but found herself mesmerized by the detailed figures instead.

The final weeks of winter passed quickly enough, and the day came when the Dark One  asked his caretaker if she might not like to spend some time outside in his gardens. She readily agreed and spent the morning wandering about the estate, enjoying the signs of nature awakening to the new season. She stretched out beneath a willow tree to enjoy the afternoon sun, and soon found herself dozing under it’s delicate branches, waking some time later to find a majestic black beast with a single horn atop it’s head peering at her through the leaves. It vanished almost as quickly as she saw it, and she blinked and shook her head, convinced that it must be the last remnants of a strange dream. She’d heard tales of the creatures called unicorns as a young girl, but none in her father’s land had ever seen such a beast. From her understanding of them, they were creatures of innocence, not likely to be found in the gardens of the Dark One. 

She had scarcely managed to rise, intent on making her way back to the castle to prepare the afternoon’s tea, when the rain began to fall. She was soaked through when she arrived back in the Great Hall. There was a fire blazing and the room was blessedly warm, which the Lady Belle was grateful for. She decided to remove her outer garments before she took a serious chill and allow them to dry at the hearth, leaving only a light chemise which was wet and plastered to her skin. She would not have dared to go about the castle in such a state before her master decided to hide himself away up in his tower, but felt sure she would have the hall to herself unless he took a notion to come down for tea, and she planned to be changed into fresh clothes by then. In fact, she had finished arranging her clothing by the fire and was about to make her way upstairs to her room to fetch something dry when the wheel appeared in the corner of the hall where she had watched the Dark One spin on so many quiet evenings before he had changed towards her. The Lady Belle had been with the Dark One for months and seen ample evidence of his magic, but it still astonished her that something so substantial as her master’s wheel could be conjured out of thin air. Forgetting her state of dress, she made her way over to the wheel, running her fingers lightly over the curve of the wood. 

The Dark One materialized behind her, his breath catching as he took in her appearance. The chemise that she wore clung to her and was all but sheer, leaving little to the imagination, and damp curls hung loosely about her shoulders. She was exquisite. His tongue snaked out to play over his lips as he watched her caress the wheel and imagined her hands upon his skin instead. 

Her purity had served it’s purpose, there was no need to preserve it any longer. The Dark One had obtained the beast he sought, even now it was safely locked away in his stables. There was no reason he shouldn’t indulge himself with his lovely caretaker.

“You act as though you’d never seen a spinning wheel before, Dearie.”

Her master’s voice came from close behind her, and she jumped the slightest bit at the sound of it. Flustered, she spun to face him. She drew her hand back at the same time, but managed to prick it on the spindle as she turned. At the prick of her finger, a length of golden thread tumbled from the wheel and wound itself about her, loosely knitting itself over the curves of her body. 

The Dark One moved towards her holding her eyes with his own, a heat in them that she had never seen before. He prowled around her, circling until she felt him close at her back. His hands skimmed over the knitted thread, running along the length of her body on either side, and she felt his magic play across her skin. The gold melted into a gown of the richest silk as she felt the wet chemise vanish underneath it. Then all she felt was the Dark One behind her, hands at her waist, breath in her hair.

“My gold suits you well.” 

His voice was low and rough, and he was so very close she could feel the heat from his body. The Lady Belle found herself breathless, unable to respond for long moments, her own voice a throaty whisper when she could finally manage to speak.

“Much about you suits me well, I think.”

He brought a hand up, pulling her hair aside to grant him access to the curve of her neck, and she felt the very tip of his nose graze the shell of her ear.

“I would have to agree, My Lady.”

He allowed the side of a finger to trail along her neck and across her bare shoulder, replacing it with his mouth before following the same path back with the tip of his tongue. She breathed a contented little sigh and relaxed into him as he whispered her name against her skin. The hand at her waist strayed down to trace along the curve of her hip then pulled her back against him so that she could feel the evidence of his desire for her. The lady’s eyes fluttered shut with a soft moan as she dropped her head back onto his shoulder and the Dark One dipped his head to nip at the bottom lip she was always nibbling before sucking it between his own. With some reluctance, he released her lip to slip his tongue into her mouth, tasting her more fully. She was sweet, his little Belle, sweeter than bee pollen on a summer wind, and her tiny gasp of pleasure as his tongue tangled with hers was nearly enough to drive him mad. 

The Lady Belle felt her master’s hands moving over her body, one coming up to cup her breast and tease her through the silk as he explored her mouth. She cried out when his fingers pinched a nipple and shivered when she heard the low growl he offered in response. Before she could hope to understand what he intended to do, the Dark One had hooked a claw into the delicate silk and sliced the front of the golden gown open from neck to thigh, leaving her exposed to the cool air. Her nipples tightened even more with the cold, though her skin was flushed with heat. Rough hands covered her breasts, kneading the soft flesh before rolling the points of her nipples between eager fingers, and all she could do was moan helplessly into the Dark One’s mouth. One of his hands travelled lower, trailing over her belly to comb through the soft curls between her thighs, her legs trembling when his clever fingers parted her folds. 

He tore his mouth from hers with a groan and brought it once more to her ear, his breath hot on her skin as he nipped at the lobe and whispered, “So, so wet. Do you want me so much, Pet?”

“Yes,” she breathed. “Oh yes!”

Suddenly everything was a rush of sensation... the feel of his fingers as they slid into her, his teeth scraping along the tender flesh at her throat, his breath on her skin, and the rush of heat as pleasure flooded through her, stealing her breath and leaving her weak and gasping. The Dark One supported her as she shuddered in his arms and clenched around his hand, his face buried in her hair. He held her close against him for long moments after she had stilled in his arms, dropping soft kisses along her shoulders before turning her to face him.

His eyes were dark pools, his breathing ragged. His hands gripped the fabric of her skirt, easily tearing what little was still intact, and lifted her in his arms as the remnants of the gown fell to the floor. He carried her to the table that dominated the hall and laid her out across it, moving between her legs and freeing himself from his leathers with a thought. A brief tickle of magic eased his passage into her, and then he was thrusting, his teeth closing on her throat to mark her as her legs came around him and her hands clutched at his shoulders. She heard his harsh cry as he poured himself into her and lost herself once more to the rush of pleasure as his body trembled over hers.

The Dark One and his Lady were recovered from their exertions and settled by the fire sharing tea when Sir Gaston and his tiny band arrived at the castle walls. It was said that the Dark One’s spells of protection allowed all but the deadliest of enemies to approach the castle itself to insure that any who wished to negotiate a deal would be able to seek an audience with the demon. The truth of this was fortunate, for it allowed the sprite Killian and the fairy Milah to enter the castle along with the knight.

The fairy’s magic could ferret out the strongest of the Dark One’s defenses and that is where they would begin their search for the dagger, for surely the Dark One would save the strongest of his spells to guard that which had the power to defeat him. The trio made their way to the cavernous passages that ran far beneath the castle before Killian began to grow wary of the wards that they encountered. Sir Gaston was proving to be more resourceful than the sprite had imagined. He began to hope that the determined knight might actually find a way to claim the dagger of the Dark One and defeat the fiend for good and all, though it had quickly become obvious that Killian himself must turn back. The protection spells were affecting him more strongly than his companions, and he had no desire to see another limb lost to his foe. It was agreed that he should seek out the Dark One without giving himself away so that Milah would know where she might lead Sir Gaston once the knight found his prize. 

When the sprite made his way to the Great Hall, the Dark One and his Lady were once again involved with one another, but not even the fervent attentions of the Lady Belle could keep the demon from detecting his presence. So it was that the sprite found himself immobile and on his knees before the Dark One when the fairy Milah came to find him and announce that Sir Gaston was on his way.

Killian sneered up at his tormentor when he caught sight of her. 

“You thought I was fool enough to return alone, fiend? I come with one who will be your undoing this time, one who can lay claim to your precious dagger.” 

“Surely you don’t mean this irksome little gnat?”  The Dark One snatched the fairy from the air, pinching her wings between thumb and forefinger. “Oh dearie, dearie, dear... a fairy who dares enter the Dark Castle?” The demon flicked a claw at the tiny fairy and sent her wand flying from her hand, then turned back to the sprite who was still on his knees, the bonds of magic strong about him and holding fast. “Pity. Perhaps a better choice of companion might have afforded her a longer life.” He lifted the fairy to eye level and giggled as she struggled uselessly against his hold. “Such a delicate thing,” he crooned. “So very fragile.”

Killian could not bear to hear her screams as the Dark One plucked Milah’s wings from her one by one before depositing her into the palm of his hand. He held the broken little thing out, just under the sprite’s nose so that Killian would be sure to see the horror on her face as his fist closed around her, crushing her into so much fairy dust. He had just straightened from bending to blow what remained of his companion into the livid sprite’s face when the doors of the Great Hall burst open and in marched the Lady Belle’s betrothed, Sir Gaston, the dagger of the Dark One clutched in his hand.

“I am Sir Gaston,” the knight announced, advancing on the demon, “and I command you to...” He was interrupted by the Lady Belle as she ran to him from her place by the fire and threw herself into his arms.

“You came for me!” she cried.”I knew you would.”

The howl from the demon filled the hall and shook the windows. He advanced on the pair, but the knight raised the dagger and stopped him with a word. The Dark One could do nothing but stand where he was, snarling and glaring at his new master. The Lady Belle reached out a hand to take hold of the knight’s arm, and Gaston lowered the dagger, allowing his attention to shift to her.

“Did he hurt you, Belle?”

“He...” She chanced a glance towards the demon and clutched at him tighter, her hand moving to his wrist. “I tried to stop him.” The knight’s eyes closed and his head bowed, knowing what was to come next. He had failed his Lady, had not arrived in time to save her from the unwelcome attentions of the fiend who held her captive. His shoulders slumped as arms fell limply to his side. And then the Lady Belle shocked him by snatching the dagger from his hand.

“This controls him?” she asked, moving just outside her champion’s reach as he stared at her dumbly.

“Yes...” The knight stammered, “yes, but ....”

“And can it kill him?” she asked, moving farther still from the knight while bringing herself closer to the Dark One.

“Don’t you see what she’s doing!?” the sprite screamed, but the knight paid him no heed, so intent was he on trying to atone for his mistake in leaving her with the demon so long as to see her spoiled.

“Yes, my Lady.” He moved forward, hand outstretched. “If you will but give it to me, I can...”

“I’m sure you can,” the Lady Belle announced, maneuvering herself behind the demon and laying a hand at his shoulder, “... but I think not.”

The creature regarded her with his strange golden eyes, and then bared his teeth in a feral grin. “You hold my dagger, Lady. What would you have me do?”

She met the demon’s stare, the glint of something unnameable in the depths of her cerulean eyes.

“Do as you will, Rumplestiltskin, though I would ask that you do not take Sir Gaston’s life. He only meant to save me.”

The knight could only stare as the demon leaned close to her, his breath upon her lips. “And do you need saving, Dearie?”

She smiled at him then, eyes flashing mischief. "Not today."

The Dark One turned on his Lady’s would be champion. “Fortune favors you, Knight. My mistress wishes that you live when I would see you die. Your life is to be made a gift to her, it seems.” With that, the creature snapped his fingers and a cloud of purple smoke enveloped the failed champion of the Lady Belle, clearing to reveal a flawless rose where Sir Gaston had stood. The Dark One stooped to retrieve it and presented it to the  lady with a low bow. “I offer you this rose, Lady... if you’ll have it.”

She reached out to take the stem and studied the  _gift_  with a tilt of her head. “He is... unharmed?” she asked, clearly uncertain.

“Of course, Dearie. Did you not command me so?”

“Hmmm...” She arched an eyebrow, regarding him with a dubious expression. 

“You did bid me do as I will, Lady. Did you not?”

The Lady Belle rolled her eyes with an indulgent shake of her head. “So I did,” she allowed. 

“And now, Dearie, if you don’t mind... “ The Dark One reached out a  hand for his dagger and the Lady Belle offered it without a thought. He took it up with a manic twitter, and turned on the sprite still bound and silent beside his wheel. “I hear a throat begging to be cut.”

_________

When next the sun rose over the Dark Castle, it found the sorcerer and his Lady curled before a fire in the Great Hall as he finished recounting the tale of his history with the unfortunate sprite known as Killian.  

“And now I must leave you for a time, My Lady.” He rose and offered his hand to help her to her feet. “There is business that must be attended to, and I fear it can wait no longer.” With the mere flick of a wrist, the Dark One held a tiny vial. He placed it in her hand and bade her drink.

“What does it do?” she asked, head tilted in the gesture that always spoke so eloquently of her curiosity.

“We are all to be cursed,” he began, “taken to a strange land with no memory of our true selves. Drink, and it will spare your memories.”

“And will you remember as well?”

“Oh yes, my Lady.” 

“Then I shall drink.”  And with that she withdrew the stopper and brought the vial to her lips. “Will I see you again in this land?”

“Not if all goes according to plan, my Lady.” 

She nodded. “You will find me in the next then?”

“Never doubt it.” He traced a claw along her cheek. “You did promise me forever, Dearie, and my dream is of eternity with you.”

The Dark One took up her hands and brought them to his lips as his eyes locked with hers. "Time will stop in this new land, Lady, but soon enough all will be well.” He wrapped her in his arms, kissing her deeply before releasing her, then turned and strode from the hall, making his way to the stables to retrieve his prize. 

The Dark One summoned his apprentice to the forest where he had taken the black unicorn and chained it in preparation for her final lesson, and the goblin arrived with two others of her kind... a meek one called Henry and another known as Cora. The presence of the goblins caused the beast to rear up, struggling against the chains that bound it, but the sorcerer focused the entirety of his attention on Regina, eager to have done with this final lesson so that his curse might finally be cast.

“Show me what you’ve learned.” He gestured to the unicorn. “Immobilize it.”

She accomplished the task easily, looking to her teacher with a proud smile. 

“Excellent work, my apprentice... now just one tiny, tiny, teeny little detail...” The goblin Regina looked from her master to the beast, waiting to learn what he would require of her. “Take it’s heart.” Her smile faltered and she looked uncertain. “You’ve seen it done,” he urged, “now do it yourself.” 

The goblin approached the beast slowly, hand outstretched, hesitant to attempt the task, lest she fail and disappoint her master. She rushed forward at the last minute, deciding it was best to move quickly and have it done. “Gentle,” the Dark One urged. “If you do it right, no harm will befall it...” He paused for a beat, offered up an evil leer, “... unless, of course, you will it.” Regina nodded, and reached out toward the beast again, hand disappearing into it’s chest and withdrawing a glowing red heart. She held it out to her master.

The Dark One all but shivered with his delight at her success, and let loose a high shrill laugh which caused her companions to move closer together. 

“Now,” he commanded, “show me you can take the final step in your training, prove that you can claim the power to cast the Dark Curse, my apprentice... kill the beast, crush it’s heart.”

The goblin looked to the heart in her hand, considering, but before she could act, the one called Cora stepped forward and snatched it up. 

“And why should  _she_  be the one to claim such honor?” Cora demanded. “What places this one above all others of our kind?”

The displeasure of the Dark One was plain, but he said nothing. A long mirror appeared behind the little upstart with a mere gesture of the sorcerer’s hand and he looked to his apprentice with a challenging stare. “Can you claim the power that you need, Regina?”

Without hesitation, she plucked the heart of the beast from Cora’s grasping fingers and shoved her back into the glass, which swallowed her whole, and disappeared as quickly as it had come. The goblin turned to face her master and closed her fist around the creature’s heart, smirking as it turned to dust and sifted through her fingers.

The Dark One’s pleasure was obvious as he regarded Regina with a conspiratorial grin and held a small scroll out to her. 

“The time has come, Dearie. You have learned what you must to become my curse caster, and now you need only claim one last heart.” he glanced in the direction of the meek one, who did his best to avoid the sorcerer’s gaze. 

“Another, Master?” The goblin’s voice held the barest hint of a challenge. “But the unicorn is dead, is this not true?”

“Very plenty true,” her master allowed, “But this is the curse to end all curses. Do you honestly believe that the heart of a beast, no matter how noble and rare, will suffice?” He shook his head and took her face in his hand, forcing her eyes to his. “Great power requires great sacrifice. The heart you need must come from something more precious. You must sacrifice one of your own kind.” And with that, the Dark One turned her head roughly in the direction of the one called Henry.

“But he is innocent, Master” Regina protested. “He’s done nothing to deserve such a fate.”

“Nothing is innocent,” the Dark One snarled. “Do you wish to cast this curse or do you not?”

“I do, Master,” the goblin pleaded. “I do.”

“Then you know what you must do.” He pointed a claw in the direction of the meek little goblin cowering beside the body of the fallen unicorn. “There he is, my apprentice. Now, kill him,” the demon commanded. “Sacrifice the heart of one of your own and nothing can stop the Darkness.”

So the goblin Regina did as her master bade her, and the Dark One’s mad laughter echoed throughout the Enchanted Forest as the Darkness enveloped the land.

 


End file.
